Made for Me.

It seems I'm always sewing something. There's rarely a day when my sewing machine doesn't get used, but I very seldom make anything to keep for myself. So when I picked up a copy of 101 Patchwork Projects at the bookstore last month, I knew I wanted to make the beautiful patchwork pillow covers featured by Lunden Designs.
I'd been sitting on some fat quarters from Joel Dewberry's "Aviary 2", collection, and this was the perfect project to use some of this fabulous fabric.


I only have one finished so far, and wanted to get some pictures of it before it is destroyed by children and/or pets. I have the second one pieced together and still need to finish it.

"It's freaky looking."

"It's freaky looking." Not exactly the response I was looking for when I showed my husband the doll I'd been laboring over for hours. How little he knows about the doll world. I've seen much freakier dolls than this one.
After posting a pic of it on Facebook, the consensus is that he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Ladies' Craft Brunch

I'm kicked up in my bed with my laptop, and a nap is on the horizon for sure, but I wanted to post some pictures from brunch today. I had a few friends over for (way too much) food, mimosas and crafting.


My sister and niece came over last night and we made cute little toppers for the quiches I'd made.







I found inspiration for brunchy goodness at Clockwork Lemon's blog, and roasted some baby red potatoes then tossed them with apple chicken sausage, caramelized onions, arugula and smoked cheddar.
We also had this lovely Lemon Pull-Apart Coffee Cake, which is just sinfully good; soft, tangy and sweet. Here's a pic before it got slathered with cream cheese icing.







But enough about the food. We also actually did do a bit of crafting. As a fabric hoarder who can't stand to throw even the tiniest scraps away, I have accumulated quite a few very small pieces of fabric; perfect for covered button crafts. I gathered the scraps up and they looked so cute in the little fabric baskets I'd made, especially paired with my new scrappy jelly jar covers that make charming little vases.





Annaliese was the only one who would consent to having her photo taken, and you should have seen the horrified looks my other guests gave me at the mention of the words "camera" and "pictures". I thought everyone looked lovely though.





And here's a picture of the fruits of our labors. We made fabric covered buttons in various sizes and then turned them into fridge magnets, bobby pins, earrings and ponytail holders. I had so much fun, can't wait for the next craft brunch. If anyone has any good ideas for group crafting projects, I'd love to hear about them.

Dr. Seuss Fabrics!

Given my limited budget for fabrics, I spend a lot of time searching for the cutest prints and the best deals.
Getting a new batch of fabrics in is like Christmas morning for me. A stack of brand new fabrics waiting to be pre-washed, cut and sewn makes me so happy.


When I received an email from one of my favorite online fabric stores, The Fabric Fairy, about a pre-order special they were having on the new Robert Kaufman line of Dr. Seuss fabrics, I knew I had to have some. I put in a pre-order for seven different prints, but I'm sure I'll be back for more. The hardest part was deciding which prints to order; they're all so cute!


Here's just a sampling of some of the prints in the collection.

Owls and Cowls

Owls are so ubiquitous on Etsy that it's something of an inside joke amongst sellers; incorporate an owl into your work and you just might have it featured in one of the coveted Front Page slots.

Or maybe the owl craze has died down a bit...

Given the ubiquity of plush owls, I was surprised when I received a request from a potential customer to make one.
Well, a sale's a sale I guess. Here's what I came up with:






Turns out the request came from a someone who likes owls and is a Spankers' fan. That made a lot more sense.
I do like the way the little owl turned out. Maybe I'll make a few more and see how they do in the shop.

Yard Sale Score!

It's Sunday, so I didn't really expect there to be an abundance of garage sales today, but I checked Craigslist and there was one on the way to the grocery store, and I needed to pick up a few things anyway, so I put the kids in the car and we went to check it out.

Score!





I'd been wanting an armoire or some sort of shelving for this spot. I desperately needed a place where I could organize my craft and sewing supplies, which have so far been stored in bins and boxes around the house and out in our detached office/storage building. I was wasting so much time searching for the things I needed and having to sort through a huge plastic bin of fabric every time I needed a particular one. A lot of stuff was stored in the baby's closet (the only closet with any space in it), so if I needed something from there and he was sleeping, I'd just have to wait.
Now I have almost everything I need within arms' reach of the kitchen table, where I do most of my sewing and crafting, and I can easily tell what fabrics I have and how much. My sewing machine fits in the bottom part easily so it's a breeze to put everything away if we want to use the table for say, eating. The best part; it was only $30! I also walked away with a couple of wool sweaters that are felting in the washer right now. I'm not sure what I'm going to make out of them yet, but I'm pretty sure they want to be turned into plush toys of some sort.

More Handmade Gifts

In a few days we're headed to Louisiana to visit the in-laws, and then off to my sister's new home near Mobile, AL.
There we will be celebrating three birthday's; my middle son's, my niece Madison's and my other niece, Breanna's.
I made a Waldorf-style doll for Madison, so decided to make Breanna's gifts as well.

I found the cutest little free purse pattern here. The first one I made, I reduced the size of the pattern to accommodate the fabric I was using since I didn't have enough for the full-size purse. The result was cute, but so tiny I decided it would be better as a little play purse for Madison (who's turning two), so now I had two gifts for Maddy and still nothing for Breanna.






The next purse seemed like a the perfect size for a nine-year old girl. The pattern is easy to use and these little purses can be whipped up in about an hour's time. I might have to make a couple for myself, although I would probably lengthen the strap a little.






I also made some polymer clay charm jewelry for Breanna. This was a foray into two previously unexplored crafts; polymer clay and jewelry making. Seriously, hats off to anyone who works in either of these mediums, because you need to have some serious patience and good eyes for this stuff. I think they turned out pretty cute, and given that the charms are tiny, I have a TON of clay leftover for future crafts.
I made her a strawberry earrings and necklace set:





Another earring/necklace set with cupcakes:





And a little charm bracelet with various treats:





I'm really looking forward to our trip. Hope the girls like their gifts!